Both Flight School and Flight Simulator are based on FSX technology... no MS Flight technology. Release for Flight School is April 2016, available through Windows Store or Steam. There will be an XBOX version of Flight School.

No 3rd party addons for Flight School. There will be 3rd party addons for Flight Simulator, but the availability of an SDK or APIs, their price, and allowance of 'unauthorised' addons has not been discussed. No release date for Flight Simulator other than 2016. No word on sloping runwways, true helicopter flight mode, or other issues absent from FSX. It is unclear if FSX addons will work in Flight Simulator (but I would seriously doubt it). Both Flight School and Flight Simulator will be 64-bit and DirectX11. I don't read if Windows7 or Windows8 are supported.

FSX:SE is not being developed further, but newer addons may be released through Steam.

There is a thread in the FSX forums discussing Dovetail's new sims. It's a mix of jubilation, groans, and wailing as well as the gnashing of teeth. Much like what we saw with the announcement of FSX by MS.

I am downloading as we speak, and will have to wait till tonight to give it a spin.

Javis

May 24th, 2016, 12:25

Downloading here too. Almost done ( took about 6 minutes... ). Up front, without having seen anything yet other than screenies, bummer that DTG went with FSX rather than MSFlight to enhance and update. IMHO the latter had a much better 'feel of flight' compared to FSX. Way better environment as well.

Oh.... download finished. Back to Flight School ! :teapot:

TuFun

May 24th, 2016, 13:02

Looking at the file structure appears to be the same as FSX. Aircraft folders look the same so possibly can do repaints for those models. Overall not bad for a starter sim!

Gdavis101

May 24th, 2016, 13:29

Looking at the file structure appears to be the same as FSX. Aircraft folders look the same so possibly can do repaints for those models. Overall not bad for a starter sim!

Runs smooth, but two steps back in graphics compared to FsX IMHO.... :mixed-smiley-010:

Meshman

May 24th, 2016, 13:58

I made a short trip after checking out the file data and getting settings going... I believe there will be some interesting reading later on and in the coming days, as the little I saw just left me with :dizzy:

TuFun

May 24th, 2016, 14:27

Flew over LA and recorded a video. Will be up in a few hours. Massive amounts of autogen even at a distance. Plagued with streets, lakes, golf course running thru buildings. Same thing with the shoreline. Even with Orbx in FSX has these issues. But, still fun flying around in!

jymp

May 24th, 2016, 14:55

Wow, the graphics are really bad, unexpectedly bad, was expecting somewhat of an upgrade from FSX/P3D in the graphics department, but it's a step backwards. IMHO

manfredc3

May 24th, 2016, 15:07

I had 30 minutes before heading to work. I was unable to get my controllers (CH Yoke, CH rudder pedals and TQ) to work. They show up in the settings, and have assignments to the axis and buttons, but nothing is responding. Not seeing how to change/calibrate. Just keeps stating: change key/button assignment, but none of the buttons on the controllers showing response, not do the axis assignments.

Graphics are a disappointment so far. Looks more like a photo is placed behind the plane.

ksheadley

May 24th, 2016, 15:54

With the preview vids I watched, they didn't address the blue haze issue. For what it is represented as, I am not disappointed. Yes some improvements can be made. Lessons are straightforward and brief. And the overall experience is positive with the sim doing what it was supposed to. Frames were solid at ultra settings on three monitors and the aircraft handled well. As this is supposed to introduce people to flightsim and give basic flight instruction, it does fairly well. As a precursor to DTG Flight Simulator, there is still work to be done.

TuFun

May 24th, 2016, 16:13

There's a video showing how to setup controls...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSdQXT_ZOM0

manfredc3

May 24th, 2016, 16:31

Thanks TuFun,

I'll have a look at that video when I get home from work tonight.

Update 05/24 11:39 PM.

JUst watched the video. I see the axis assigned to to my controls, when in free flight nothing happens when moving my CH Products yoke/levers/hat switch, etc. Not even the rudder pedals show any movement in the sim, even though the control settings show them assigned.

And when selecting a function in the configuration screen the movement of my controls are not being detected. Grr.

This is certainly not the kind of first impression I was expecting.

Will be posting a question on the support page (whenever that becomes available)

TuFun

May 24th, 2016, 17:00

Ok here we go, flying around Los Angeles. Everything on Ultra so not ideal for my computer, but to show what does look like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIO4phPj5DM

rhumbaflappy

May 25th, 2016, 09:06

The scenery is FSX/ORBX. Look at the terrain.cfg file. $15 for a look at Dovetail's future with Flight Simulator. There's an Oshkosh scenery from fs2004 in the cities. You can decompile the airports with ADE. The aircraft are FSX using only XML gauges. TMFViewer shows the terrain (CVX) files.

Dick

manfredc3

May 25th, 2016, 11:34

Okay, so I spent a bit of time this morning figuring out how to get my Yoke to work with Flight School.

Yeah, well....keep on dreaming!!

The CHProjects rudder pedals are working fine, but the yoke and throttle quadrant are no luck. (Don't worry so much about the TQ)

I hooked up my Thrustmaster HOTAS and that is working fine.

So I guess the CHProducts yoke, being one of the most used yokes in the flightsim world, fell outside the "Partial Controls" Compatibility.

And I just noticed that the FAQ page is removed from the http://www.dtgflightschool.com website.

Ferry_vO

May 25th, 2016, 12:29

Using NVidia Inspector I changed settings to match with my FsX setting, hoping to improve the quality a bit.
The aircraft themselves look quite nice, though I can't get rid of some of the 'jaggies'. The scenery is better from a bit of altitude than the stock FsX scenery, but its all a bit dark below the aircraft and hazy at a slight distance. Detail in the scenery seems to vanish quickly (Small radius) and no way to change it in the settings menu. Maybe in the Fsc.cfg, will have to check later.
Clouds still looks awful IMHO! Like old 2D clouds.

For 15 euro I can't complain for a full game, however if this is the direction DTG are going with their next full flight simulator I don't think I will jump in like I did with this...

I decided to have a look at the calibration options in Windows 10. (even though I had finished a 2 hr flight in the PMDG 737NGX with FSX just before downloading, and installing Flight School.

The configuration page showed the yoke, but any axis movement of button press was not detected. Hmm interesting!!

I decided to check the usb connection, and just unplugging, and plugging the usb plug back in to the usb port on the computer solved the issue. control axis movement and button presses are being detected, and now the yoke is working in Flight School, including being able to assign the buttons/switches.

Well the Nvidia inspector way of tweaking is not an option for atm, as it means loosing the settings for FSX.

I did like the idea of getting Rex to work, as that would mean a major improvement of the cloud textures.

So far I am not seeing a reason to tweak the cfg file, as I am getting 60 - 100+ fps (which doesn't say that much). For me a smooth running sim is what it is all about, and I have no issues in that field with all settings to Ultra High.

Besides the already several times reported graphics issue, the sim itself is running very nice,

The correct way is to leave the FSX profile alone and create a new one.
You can call it Flight School for example and just add FSc.exe to it.
Then all the settings can be altered to suit his guide with no effect on any other
game or simulator.

I have made the UK VFR photo scenery work, though with flaws in some of the tiles.
It doesn't look good though with the chosen display method.
I can see this changing soon, either by Dovetail or some enterprising person with enough
depth of knowledge of shaders to do it.

Naismith

May 27th, 2016, 16:08

Well I gave it a brief whizz around London which in FSX is usually best avoided, and I was mightily impressed with the FPS on my machine it was up in the 60's (I5 4690K, W7 64bit. 32GB RAM. Not at all like FSX. Highly detailed yet no slow downs or jitters. Sure, barely any AI to slow things but still way better than a virgin FSX. So imo it bodes well for the full release later on if they keep this up.:encouragement:

Well, right off the bat I have a problem. The very first thing the Tweak Guide mentions is a change to the Buffer Pools? My DTG Flight School cfg file does NOT have a Buffer Pools listed. I have checked it thoroughly. Does not show up under Search, and I have scrolled up and down it. NO Buffer Pools. Now what??

NC

txnetcop

May 28th, 2016, 14:56

Well, right off the bat I have a problem. The very first thing the Tweak Guide mentions is a change to the Buffer Pools? My DTG Flight School cfg file does NOT have a Buffer Pools listed. I have checked it thoroughly. Does not show up under Search, and I have scrolled up and down it. NO Buffer Pools. Now what??

NC

I'm afraid I don't have an answer yet...I don't either, but I don't seem to have a problem. It's fast and the graphics look pretty good...looking for an answer for you.

Roger

May 28th, 2016, 15:19

Good info here: https://flyawaysimulation.com/news/4761/

I use:

[BufferPools]
PoolSize=0

Navy Chief

May 28th, 2016, 15:19

I'm afraid I don't have an answer yet...I don't either, but I don't seem to have a problem. It's fast and the graphics look pretty good...looking for an answer for you.

Thank you so much! NC:encouragement:

txnetcop

May 28th, 2016, 15:27

Hey Chief I guess I'm a little late but what Roger said is right...
Ted

Navy Chief

May 28th, 2016, 17:08

Good info here: https://flyawaysimulation.com/news/4761/

I use:

[BufferPools]
PoolSize=0

Thank you for the link, Roger. I read through that article. Most interesting, and extremely detailed. I did not see a reference, however, as to a solution for not having a Bufferpool section in my cfg file. Should I simply add a Bufferpool section? Thanks, NC

txnetcop

May 28th, 2016, 17:33

Navy Chief just add your bufferpools exactly as he wrote it you may have to experiment with the other numbers as each PC is different.
Ted

Navy Chief

May 28th, 2016, 17:39

Thanks Ted:encouragement: NC

dhasdell

May 29th, 2016, 07:22

Does this thing have a map? I've allocated a key, but only get an FSX-type frame comícontaining a black rectangle.